Preached To The Saints At Riverview Baptist the Morning of March 19, 2017
At 798 Santa Fe Pike, Columbia, TN

Matthew 9:27-31 (KJV)  And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.  [28]  And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.  [29]  Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.   [30]  And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.   [31]  But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

Jesus had just finished raising a little twelve year old girl from the dead. The world laughed at Him when He said “The child is not dead, but sleeping”. The world has always laughed at Jesus, undervalued Jesus, honored Him out of the side of their mouth. The Bible says “they laughed Him to scorn” (Matthew 9:24). The world and the worldly know nothing of Jesus. They are blinded by the devil. The Apostle said:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (KJV)  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  [4]  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The world has eyes, but cannot see. Jesus stood above a dead girl and said “Talitha Cumi” which means “Little Girl, Rise”. The dead little girl heard Jesus and rose to follow Him, coming from death to life. “Lazarus come forth” (John 11:33) and the walking dead outside the tomb could not believe their eyes. Jesus spoke, and the dead came to life. Those who think they are alive without Christ are dead, “For in Him was LIFE; and the LIFE was the LIGHT of men” (John 1:4). People saw Jesus with their eyes but could not believe.

But two blind men who could not see HEARD Jesus. And they chased Jesus until they got what they wanted.

Suffering Leads Us To Jesus

One of the most common questions I’m asked as a Pastor is

“Why does a loving God allow suffering in the world?”

I always tell them that this is Adam’s fault. He brought sin into the world – and death by sin – by disobeying our Loving God. We suffer because of sin. I grieve over the suffering and death of children, of people I know. But I also know this.

Suffering Draws Us Toward God.
And that, dear friends, is a good thing.

We were made in the image of God to walk with God. What God gave Adam in the Garden of

Eden was not about “STUFF”.
It was about RELATIONSHIP.

God gave Adam a perfect Wife. God gave Adam a perfect environment. But what God gave Adam above all else WAS HIMSELF. The world fell into sin because Adam rejected the Presence of God in favor of making himself god. When we draw away from God we bring pain into our lives and into the lives of others.

Matthew 9:27 (KJV) … Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him,

Who followed Jesus? Two blind men. Many of the narratives in one Gospel is told from another perspective in another Gospel. But this account is unique. Only Matthew records it. Two blind men follow Jesus. Why are they following Jesus? Because they are suffering. They are blind.

Matthew 9:27 (KJV)… two blind men followed him, crying, and saying,

• These Men Were Sincere In Seeking Christ The Bible says that they were “crying and saying”. To “cry”, the Greek κράζω krazō, which means to “cry out loud, to shout, to speak with a loud voice”. They were LOUD. They wanted Jesus’ attention. They weren’t worried about what others might think. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:6 (ESV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

You cannot hope to be blessed by God if you are not vigorous in seeking HIM.

These men shouted after Jesus. If you’ll notice the text, Jesus did not immediately stop when they cried out. Jesus kept on going. We read later in the text that “when Jesus was come into the house”. The Lord had a destination, had a place He was going.

Some people think that Christ stands hat in hand waiting for the blessing of our presence. This is not true. We need God – God does NOT need us. Don’t expect to be blessed if you are half asleep in your faith. Don’t expect pardon and blessing from God if you’re more afraid of what others might say than you are of God. The Bible says:

Proverbs 1:7 (ESV) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”

These men weren’t afraid of what others might say. They wanted to be blessed of Christ, so they cried out to Christ.

Matthew 9:27 (KJV)… two blind men followed him, crying, and saying,

• These Men Persevered Though The Way Was Hard They were not distracted by anything, but “followed Jesus”.

When I was a little boy we played a game similar to Pin The Tail On The Donkey. I don’t remember the name of the game, but we drew a line on a road or walkway. Then your “friend” would tell you where to step, while your “enemies” would shout conflicting instructions to you. You had to stay along the line and reach the goal to win.

Oh, did I mention you were blind folded?

Imagine this. Blindfolded, with just the words of your friend to keep you on the path. All the while the enemy team yells conflicting directions, all intended to get you to fail.

That’s what it was like for these blind men. They have no eyes. They have ears, they can hear, but cannot see Jesus. They walk after Christ. They listen for His voice. People get in their way, and they walk around these people. Maybe they cry out to the crowd. “Do you see Jesus? Where is He? We must have Jesus!” A malicious little boy calls out. “He’s over here”, just to watch them stumble and fall. Another cruel person says “There’s no Jesus here. He’s gone. You need to get gone, too.” But they don’t listen to the negative. They cannot look, but they can hear. They hear Jesus’ voice. Jesus the Pharisees who followed after Him but were spiritually blind men:

John 10:26-30 (ESV) 26 … you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me,a is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.

These men are persistent. Blind, stumbling, they hear His Voice and follow Him. They are like Jacob of old who, wrestling with the Angel of the Lord, said:

Genesis 3:25 (ESV) …. I will not let You go unless You bless me.

These men were persistent in their seeking of Christ. If we would persist in seeking Him, being persistent in prayer, we would always experience the blessing of His Presence.

Matthew 9:27 (KJV)… crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.

• These Blind Men Came To Christ HUMBLY They approached Christ demanding “Mercy”. They did not come as many come to God demanding their rights. So many people come before God demanding their rights before His Throne. If God gave us what we deserved, we would deserve HELLFIRE and BRIMSTONE. In America we feel that we are ENTITLED to only the best. But each and every one of us are sinners.

But God will give us mercy if we cry out to Him.

James 4:6 (ESV) {God} gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The best way to NOT get a blessing from God is to go before Him DEMANDING. These men wanted their eyesight. They wanted to receive a sense that most of us take for granted. But they didn’t go to Jesus saying:

“Lord, everyone else has eyesight. We demand You give us eyesight too!”
“It is our RIGHT as humans to SEE!”

We have no rights before God other than to His mercy. As Dr. D.A. Carson wrote in The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God:

“Mercy is coupled with other attributes of God in Psalm 86:15, “You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (ESV). God’s mercy is rooted in His love for us. He is merciful, in large part, because He is love (1 John 4:8). As sinners, we DESERVE punishment (Romans 3:23). God’s righteousness requires punishment for sin—He wouldn’t be holy otherwise. Since God does love us and is merciful, He sent His Son (John 3:16). The fullness of His mercy is seen in Matthew 27. Jesus is brutally beaten and murdered on our behalf; Jesus received our just condemnation, and we received God’s mercy.

Because of His love for us, God wants us to be with Him. His mercy is required for that to take place; there is an inseparable connection between God’s love and mercy. Jesus laid down His life and became the sacrificial lamb (Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29) so that God’s mercy could be extended to us. Instead of punishing us for our sin, God allowed His Son to take the condemnation in our place. That is the ultimate act of God’s mercy (see Ephesians 2:4–5). To our eternal benefit, “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13b).”

These men went to God humbly. They cried after Jesus for MERCY. And they acknowledged Jesus as Messiah when they said “Thou SON OF DAVID, have mercy on us”. The “Son of David” is a title reserved for the Messiah. Jesus is Lord. He is the Son of David. There is no other Messiah outside of Christ. There is no other way unto Heaven. There is no other way to be blessed, but through Christ. The great C.H. Spurgeon preached:

“We must plead after this fashion, ‘O God, if You destroy me, I deserve it. If never a comfortable look should come from your face to me, I cannot complain. But save a sinner, Lord, for mercy’s sake. I have no claim upon You whatever, but oh, because You are full of grace, look on a poor blind soul that gladly would look on You.’”

Too many people are never saved because of pride and arrogance.

Too many people think “God would be quite blessed if He receive Me. Why, Heaven would receive another Angel if I go there!” May I remind you that Angels are both GOOD and EVIL. The GOOD Angels are submitted to God. The GOOD Angels spend their time serving and glorifying God, not being served by Him.

• These Blind Men Came To Christ DIRECTLY

Matthew 9:28 (KJV)… when He was come into the house, the blind men came TO HIM:

The only place you can be saved is by coming to Jesus.
The only way you can be blessed is by going to Him Who loves you.

Jesus was not the only person in the house. We at least know that Matthew was there, for he is recording this event. They didn’t come to Matthew and say “Matthew, you’re one of His first Apostles. Would you speak to Him on our behalf?” No, they didn’t.

They didn’t call for a “Priest” or a “Father” and say “Now you go to Jesus for us”. No, they didn’t do this. Listen to me.

They didn’t turn to a Preacher and ask “Is there some ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ I can repeat after you to get a blessing from Christ?” No, they didn’t. They went DIRECTLY to Jesus. They came TO HIM. I can and do pray FOR you, but you need to go TO HIM if you want to be blessed.

Notice How Jesus Responds To These Men

Jesus always asks good questions. Here’s some of the questions that Jesus has asked up to this point in the Gospel of Matthew:

if you greet your brethren only, what is unusual about that?
Do not the unbelievers do the same? Matthew 5:47

Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan? Matthew 6:27

Why are you anxious about clothes? Matthew 6:28

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye yet fail
to perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? Matthew 7:2

Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Matthew 7:16

Why are you terrified {at the storm}? (Matthew 8:26)

These blind men come to Jesus begging, crying, shouting for mercy. They have chased Him down the street for I don’t know how long. And Jesus asks them:

Matthew 9:28 (KJV) … Believe ye that I am able to do this?

I want you to notice what Jesus did NOT ask them.

1. Jesus did not ask them “are you men WORTHY of this? Have you been good men?” So many people say “I will not come forward to be saved until I am worthy”. If that is the case, dear friend, then you will die and go to hell. None of us are worthy.

Romans 3:10 (NIV) There is no one righteous, not even one.

1 Samuel 2:2 (NLT) There is no one holy like the Lord.

Mark 10:18 (ESV) No one is good except God alone.

Jesus knows this. Jesus said “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32). Jesus does not ask these men about their characters, nor how they lived their lives up to this point. He asks, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

2. Jesus does not ask them “What have you done to CORRECT THIS PROBLEM?” He doesn’t ask curious questions, nor does He speculate. Jesus just asks them about the placement of their faith. “Do YOU believe that I – I alone – am able to do this?”.

Faith is the bucket by which God blesses us. We lower the bucket into the well that is Christ, believing that He will fill it. Is our focus on Jesus?

A man came to Jesus once with a son that was possessed of a demon. Jesus asked “How long has this been happening to him?” The father replied:

Mark 9:21-22 (NKJV) … “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

The daddy said “IF You can do ANYTHING”. This indicates that he came to Christ, but had doubt. He had seen his baby for years perhaps do self destructive things. Could Jesus help? Could He? Jesus told the daddy

Mark 9:23 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, “IF YOU CAN BELIEVE, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Can you believe in Christ? Do you believe that He is able to do this? Could the father believe? The Bible says:

Mark 9:24 (NKJV) Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

I have often wondered how they made suspension bridges across great chasms. I was reading one time that one met method is to shoot a thin but strong fishing line across the chasm. Then you send someone to the other side. You then tie a piece of stronger twine to the fishing line, and have your partner pull the twine. Then you tie the twine to rope, and then rope to chain, then chain to cable, until the heavy cable is pulled across the chasm.

When faith is weak, focus that faith on Christ. If it is but fishing line strong, shoot it across the chasm of doubt to the Lord. As He draws that line to Him, tie a stronger cord, trusting Him and Him alone. Jesus healed that child, and Jesus will bless the blind men.

“Do YOU BELIEVE That I AM ABLE To Do This?”

Matthew 9:28-29 (KJV)  …. Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.  [29]  Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

When the blind men said “Yes, Lord” to Jesus, Jesus said “According to YOUR faith, be it unto YOU”. Do YOU believe that Jesus is able to heal you? Do YOU believe that Christ is able to save you? It is YOUR faith in HIM that ultimately will make the difference. The Bible says:

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Your grandmother – like my grandmother – may be able to pray that you will be led to Christ. But your grandmother cannot believe you into Heaven. Your sainted father, or loving aunt, or precious wife cannot get you into Heaven. If you want salvation from Christ them you must believe that HE IS ABLE. There are a lot of people who come to Christ and are never saved, never healed, never blessed. They come to Jesus but have no faith in Him. The question of salvation and blessing is

Do YOU believe that “Christ died, the just for the unjust,
that He might bring us to God”? (1 Peter 3:18)

Do YOU believe that Jesus is able?

He is able. He is worthy.

Jesus touched these men. The Bible tells us that:

Matthew 9:30 (KJV) … And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

Their eyes were opened. Jesus told them “Tell no man”. Adam Clark in his commentary states that if Christ had been fully manifested as Messiah at this time the people would have tried to proclaim Him king. In John 6:15 they tried to make Jesus King by force, which caused Him to retreat into the mountains. Jesus is King, He is the King of Glory. But at this time He has come to seek and save the lost, to be the Lamb of God without spot or blemish.

Yet these men told anyway.

Matthew 9:31 (KJV) But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

The blessed men told when Jesus told them not to do so. Today we are supposed to tell. If Christ has blessed you, tell someone. If Jesus has opened your eyes to His glorious Kingdom, share this with someone. Give your testimony. Tell others.

For Christ is able to save them, too!

May God touch your hearts with His Word.